Football Culture Research Articles

Making fútbol straight again: Homophobia, misogyny and the politics of Alexis Sánchez’s sexuality

This essay examines the media frenzy around the ‘love-life’ of Chilean football star Alexís Sánchez, particularly the 2017 announcement of his romantic involvement with actress Mayte Rodríguez. It discusses the media coverage as a poignant example of misogyny and homophobia in Chilean football culture, as well as one of the forces that perpetuates that culture. During the years of the 2018 World Cup qualifying process, Chile accrued the most severe fines of any country for homophobic behaviour at football matches. This fact has attracted some, but not much, attention. There are few spaces of such extreme gender segregation as football. Once football’s capacity to develop proper masculinity and heterosexuality was widely accepted, football directors, journalists and fans pushed women outside of the sport. The relationship between homophobia and sexism has a long history in the construction of football fandom, play and organization. Media played a crucial role in reinforcing the heteronormative and misogynist aspects of the sport. This essay discusses how these long-standing prejudices have hurt women journalists, fans and athletes. Please note that this essay was previously published in Spanish in De Cabeza.

Football Museums: History, Identity, and Connection

With an increasing number of museums of popular culture, the portrayal of the ‘pop’ and everyday life experiences has linked museums more closely with projections of identities. Engaging with one of world’s most popular sports, football museums enhance the possibilities of reaching a wider public and of providing forums for issues of history and identity. Based on research conducted at the National Football Museum in Manchester and the Linzi Football Museum in Zibo, a cross-cultural study of how football museums represent the history of football, construct identities, and promote communications between different football cultures is provided. By examining the exhibiting practices, activity programmes, cultural settings of the two football museums, as well as connections between them, this article joins continuing efforts to understand the interpretations of football culture, with objectives of introducing the usually ignored Linzi Football Museum to the football world and communicating the development of football museums to a wider audience.

The transition game: Toward a cultural economy of football in post-socialist China

Following decades of significant economic and political reform, a once-closed China has emerged as the world’s fastest growing and arguably most interconnected political economic system. In the context of what has been termed a “post-socialist” transition, China’s sport system has similarly undergone rapid marketization (bringing in market actors and action). In this article, we examine the changing state and function of football (soccer) within this period of post-socialist transition. We provide a critical analysis of recent (c. 2010–2017) private and state-based initiatives to develop the commercial viability, international interconnectivity, and cultural significance of football (soccer). Drawing upon theories of cultural economy as developed by the globalization theorist Arjun Appadurai, we provide an historical and conceptual investigation of the strategic efforts to nationally imagine football culture as, and within, transitioning China. To do this, we examine how state actors and private intermediaries have leveraged increases in high-profile player transfers, domestic franchise valuations, investment in foreign teams, development of player academies, overall youth and adult participation, and expanded media rights agreements to simultaneously economize Chinese football culture and culturalize the logics of commercial sport and free market capitalism more generally. In so doing, we map the various “scapes” through which people, capital, images, technologies, and ideologies have been set aflow and thereby frame new imaginings of mass privatization, mediation, and consumerism for a national football consuming public.

Concussions in NCAA Varsity Football Athletes: A Qualitative Investigation of Player Perception and Return to Sport.

Background:The objective of this study was to understand the experiences and perspectives of varsity football athletes on return to play following a concussion injury.Methods:Two experienced interviewers conducted qualitative, semistructured interviews of college-level football players who had sustained at least one concussion during their varsity careers.Results:Twenty varsity football players who averaged 2.3 concussions each (range, 1–5) were interviewed regarding peer pressure, the culture of football, and player awareness as factors affecting return to sport following a concussion. Less common secondary factors included risk management, severity and timing of the injury, and team support.Conclusions:Psychological stressors, the culture of football, and increased awareness were the most influential factors affecting collegiate football players' deciding to return to sport following a concussion.Level of Evidence:Level III

Glocal culture, sporting decline? Globalization and football in Scandinavia

This chapter looks at how globalization has affected and shaped the domestic elite level male football cultures of Scandinavia since the game turned more professional in the region. By drawing on empirical examples from the recent histories of Norwegian, Swedish and, to a lesser extent, Danish football, the authors analyse how the sporting cultures of these countries have changed since the 1970s. The amateur ideologies which had previously dominated football in Scandinavia faded during a period when influences from international and especially professional English football intensified. These influences stretched from playing styles to spectator cultures. While these influences initially made clubs and teams from Scandinavia more competitive in international football, the ‘hypercommodification’ which has dominated top level European football in the new millennium has to a large extent affected Scandinavian football in a negative way in terms of sporting competitiveness. Simultaneously the authors argue that global influences have injected significant fuel and new energy to the spectator cultures evident in a large number of Scandinavian football club communities.

2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil: Gentrification of Brazilian Football

This research focuses on the impacts of the 2014 FIFA Football World Cup on the Brazilian national football scene, especially in terms of its sporting infrastructure, relevant football bodies and fans of the national clubs. Through a qualitative approach based on a three-year longitudinal study (interviews, observations and documentary analysis) the theme was analyzed taking into account the importance of Brazilian football culture, whether as a sport or as a leisure activity, and the local aspects in four host cities of the competition: Belo Horizonte, Manaus, Recife and Rio de Janeiro. The results showed a profound modification of the country's stadiums infrastructure over the medium term, and a consequent gentrification of the fan base. Although managers of the country's top clubs are aware of these changes, the scenario for Brazilian football remains precarious when we consider the power of this sport within the country.

Visualising diverse religious performances: the “sacred” and the “profane” in Zimbabwean football

ABSTRACT This article deploys Mircea Eliade’s concept of the sacred and the profane (The Sacred and the Profane. London: Harvest, 1959) to demonstrate the symbolic architecture of diverse religious performances, myths, and rituals in Zimbabwean football. Football is a critical space for viewing the religious, political, and cultural dimensions of most societies across the globe. However, cultural studies of sport in Africa have under-theorised the interface of religion and sport in the Zimbabwean context and, in the process, have remained desperately underdeveloped. This study employed ethnographic research methods, particularly participant observation during Premier Soccer League (PSL) matches in purposively selected football stadiums between 2012 and 2015. In-depth interviews were also conducted with selected fans, footballers, and coaches in Zimbabwe. Newspaper stories which reported “contentious” incidents of religion and spirituality in football during the period of study were also analysed. The study shows the complex interaction of football and religion in Zimbabwe. In essence, it provides deeper insights into the religious syncretism, superstitions, and myths underlying football cultures in the Zimbabwean context.

One of the few: the experiences of female elite-level coaches in Norwegian football

The aim of this article is to explore the experiences of female elite-level Norwegian coaches in football. More precisely, we wanted to find out the meaning of gender for these coaches’ football experiences. The results presented are based on five in-depth interviews with female elite-level coaches between 36 and 50 years of age. A feminist cultural and a gender perspective are used to understand and discuss the findings. As shown in other studies, the culture of football in Norway is very gendered. This has an impact on the female football coaches’ experiences, both in relation to how they perceive their own role, their coach education and with respect to their self-confidence and how they look upon their own chances in the job market. As a group, they represent a form of pariah femininity, and very little resistance femininity and a liberal feminist perspective, i.e. equality on the men’s premises.

Faith, Football, and the First Amendment: Threading the Needle between Establishment and Free Exercise

From the “Hail Mary Pass” to the “Immaculate Reception,” “Touchdown Jesus” to “Catholics vs. Convicts,” and even “Tebowing” to the simple celebration prayer, faith and football have always been intertwined. Despite the significant impact of religion and prayer in shaping our football culture, the concern is when this tradition involves both coaches and players in the public-school context. Specifically, courts are being faced with determining when a coach’s expressive conduct around the football field is “private” speech expressing the views and emotions of the individual, or “public” speech expressing the views of the school and the state. This paper analyzes how Kennedy v. Bremerton School District — the most recent clash between faith and public-school football — sheds light on how lower courts are failing to interpret the proper scope of the Establishment Clause and in doing so, stripping high school football coaches of their First Amendment rights.

The myth of the public schools as the inventors of modern soccer: the ultimate revisionism

The article maintains that professional association football, far from being the descendant of games played at public schools in Britain, were substantially speaking created despite them. In the first place, while many of the rules constituting modern soccer were created in the public schools, essentially they were not popular, only obtaining mass appeal when they were applied and refined by forces outside the public schools, notably the football culture of Sheffield. Secondly, whereas until the late 1820s there was a great deal of sport conducted in Britain for stakes, the ethos promoted in the public schools disapproved of commercial sport consequently sapping its vitality. The growth and use of the financial element, especially the use of professional players, stemmed from outside the public schools, especially from areas of Lancashire.

Myths, truths and pioneers: the early development of association football in The Potteries

Despite a wealth of academic research focusing on the origins and development of association football in Britain during the nineteenth century, academics have failed to reach a consensus regarding the early history of the game with the emergence of contrasting ‘orthodox’ and ‘revisionist’ interpretations. Much of the current research has focused on tackling the subject on a national level and this has resulted in many towns, cities and regions across the country being overlooked when sports historians discuss the origins of modern football. One such region is North Staffordshire, more commonly referred to as The Potteries, which, despite having played a key role in the formation of the Football League, possessing one of the oldest professional football clubs in the country and an early county football association, has never been the subject of an in-depth academic study. Using a range of archival sources this paper provides an overview of the origins and early development of association football across The Potteries from the 1850 to 1870s, emphasizing the influence of Stoke City Football Club and provides a fact based resolution to the debate surrounding the club’s origin and formation. The wider development of the game in The Potteries is also explored, tracing the early informal football activities taking place at fairs, fetes and the wakes holidays to the establishment of a football culture in the 1870s following the formation of organized football clubs and the Staffordshire Football Association. This paper concludes that neither the orthodox nor the revisionist interpretations of the game’s origins can fully explain the region’s football development and that further research into the region is required to understand the significance of The Potteries in relation to the national picture.

“足改”背景下我国青少年校园足球文化建设研究

随着《中国足球改革发展总体方案》的颁布，国家将足球改革提升到了重要的战略地位。在此背景下，中国足球的发展迎来了新的契机。校园足球文化建设作为足球改革的重要组成部分，将承担着重要的历史使命。本文运用文献资料法、逻辑分析法，主要探讨我国校园足球文化建设的现实意义，并分析足球文化建设的四个层面，同时提出相应的对策，为我国青少年校园足球文化能够更好地建设提供理论依据。结果表明：足球竞赛体系、训练体系及人才培养模式的构建是建设青少年校园足球文化的重要举措。 With the promulgation of the “China Football Reform and Development Program”, the nation has promoted the football reform to an important strategic position. In this context, the development of Chinese football has ushered in a new opportunity. As an important part of football reform, campus football culture will bear an important historical mission. This paper, using the method of literature, logical analysis, mainly discusses the practical significance of China’s football on campus cultural construction, analyzes four aspects of football culture construction, and puts forward the corresponding countermeasures, to better provide a theoretical basis for the construction of youth campus football culture in China. The results show that the construction of the football competition system, training system and talents training mode is an important measure to build the young campus football culture.

Understanding the Psychosocial Influences on High School Football Players’ Weight-Gaining Behaviors

High school football players are often encouraged to “bulk up” to improve their performance. However, their weight-gain techniques often include unhealthy eating practices that have health consequences. Using the integrated behavioral model (IBM) as a sensitizing framework, we interviewed 22 former high school football players. Findings indicate significant descriptive and injunctive normative influences, a culture of high school football that facilitated bulking up, and contrasting experiential and instrumental attitudes toward weight-gain behaviors. This formative research can assist in the development of health communication interventions targeting players, coaches, and parents.

Local identities in a global game: the social production of football space in Liverpool

ABSTRACTThis paper explores the tensions between local identities and the globalization of the English Premier League by presenting a case study of football fandom in Liverpool. Our findings are based on participant observation and numerous interviews in Liverpool, UK. We examine the tensions resulting from reliance on, and resistance to, tourist-based consumption of the game. We use a Lefebvrian theoretical framework that analyses how football spaces in Liverpool are socially and economically produced, and how the supporters’ groups of different teams in the city work to both globalize and glocalize the football culture of the city. We also look at how supporters are attempting to reshape their relationship with football’s current economic and cultural space. As Liverpool increasingly relies on a tourist-based economy with sport as its focus, the relationships between local and distant supporters, their clubs, and other fans are altered.

Behind the digital curtain: Ethnography, football fan activism and social change

Football supporters worldwide organise protests, petitions, campaigns, workshops and congresses and are engaged in political lobbying. These expressions of supporters’ activism are nourished by both discontent with developments in football culture and an effort to change them. The aim of this methodologically driven article is to critically examine the role of digital ethnographies in exploring these processes. To reflexively explore the complex realities of recent transformations in football culture, this research study complemented offline data with online data. The use of digital data is discussed along the following dimensions: informational, representational, epistemological and relational. It is argued that the analytical dualism employed to critically discuss the relationship between online and offline spheres should be complemented with empirical duality to fully understand the role played by the digital sphere in social reality.

Racism and homophobia in English football: The equality act, positive action and the limits of law

This article provides an analysis of two connected discriminatory practices in contemporary English male professional football. The first discriminatory practice concerns race and employment opportunities as coaches and managers despite the relative high levels of professional players from certain Black Minority and Ethnic (BME) backgrounds. An evaluation is made as to whether the introduction of a Rooney-type rule that requires BME candidates to be interviewed for these types of positions, which currently operates in American Gridiron Football, should be introduced in the United Kingdom. The second discriminatory practice concerns sexual orientation, appearing to result in it being impossible for gay professional players to openly acknowledge their sexuality. There are tensions between the right to privacy, on the one hand, and evidence of significant elements of homophobia in the culture of professional football, on the other. Both these discriminatory practices are complex and very much of the moment. This article provides an analysis of how these discriminatory practices manifest themselves. A key issue is an evaluation of how the Equality Act, particularly in the context of the positive action provisions under the Act, has provided a remedy to promote diversity in the particular social field of football. A range of anti-racism and anti-homophobia sports-related policies and rules has been developed to engage with these issues and this article examines the relationship between these normative mechanisms and the provisions under the Act. It is contended that the Equality Act’s positive action provisions fail to promote effective diversity in this social field in relation to race and sexual orientation. A case is made for more radical elements of affirmative action to be given legal support to bring about meaningful change in football in terms of diversity and inclusion.

The spirit of Aggieland: Neoliberalism, militarization, and football culture at Texas A&M University

On Fall Saturdays in College Station, Texas, the boom of cannon announces football. The sound is not meant to signal the kickoff or an Aggie touchdown, but the commencement of the ceremonial march ...

Whose Game Is It Anyway? A People's History of East German Football

Turning away from star players and secret police surveillance, this article provides a history of East German football from below, examining the role of the people's game in shaping everyday life in the socialist state. Analyzing issues of class, gender, and youth culture as they related to three aspects of recreational football culture—men's workplace teams, women's football, and fan clubs—it argues that the sport, like few other leisure pursuits, illustrates the complex relationship between politics and pleasure in a one-party dictatorship. Football was an unusually visible, versatile, regular, and unpredictable means of giving voice and agency to ordinary East Germans, a place of multiple networks (both formal and informal) from which communist power was often excluded.

Soccer and the city: the game and its fans in Solo and Yogyakarta

Football fandom and sports culture are largely neglected in studies of Indonesia. This is despite the highly complex nature of football fandom in Indonesian cities. This essay draws on experiences in two cities in central Java: Yogyakarta and Solo. Contemporary football culture in Solo and Yogyakarta is linked to the policies of decentralization that have emerged in the post-New Order (1998 onwards) and to the deeply contested identity politics. The essay privileges the perspective of a capo (dirigen, conductor) from Solo in articulating the experience of identifying with a particular football club (Persis Solo) and that of an ex-player of PSS Sleman from the province of Yogyakarta. It explores how football culture plays a vital role in the establishment and maintenance of, and contestation over city and urban identity.

‘Brazil, Tell Me How It Feels’: Soccer, Music, Narcissism, and the State, or Mascherano’s Failure

During Brazil's 2014 World Cup finals, Argentine fans popularized a chant that stated “Brazil, tell me how it feels”. The chant became viral, and produced a Brazilian response, “Argentina, me diz que se sente”: both discussed relationship of rivalry by joking at the other's expenses. But it was surprising that the chant was based on the melody of a very old song from the American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival, recorded in 1969, possibly before the birth of those who sang the melody in Brazil (“Bad Moon Rising”, a very popular song recorded many times). This paper discusses several topics derived from that fact: the relationship between popular music and football chants; the uses of popular music and global pop at the World Cups from 1962 to our days; the self-presentation of the “local” (national) fans before a globalized media scene; and, last but not least, the role of sport icons and heroes for the fans but also for the construction of national epics (the icons and heroes invoked in the chants included, obviously, both Maradona and Messi, two of the most important football heroes from the ‘80s until today). The core idea is to show how contemporary football culture must be described and interpreted in the continuous intersection of local texts -and fans’ practices- and global events.